Senate's education agenda: Senate President Joe Negron's agenda includes more school choice for K-12 and more money for the state's universities. The Republican from Stuart also affirms his support for school testing and accountability. WUSF.

Graduation rates: South Florida schools' graduation rates have been rising steadily for five years, and hit records highs this year. Sun-Sentinel. WLRN. St. Lucie County high schools have one of the best graduation turnarounds in the state. TCPalm. The Bay County School District sees a 10 percentage point increase in its graduation rate in the past year, and its rate is now higher than the state average. Panama City News Herald. Graduation rates in Citrus County schools are up 19.2 percentage points from 2004. Citrus County Chronicle.

Teacher honored: Sandy Waite of Southside Elementary School in Sarasota is named the Florida elementary school literacy teacher of the year. The award, given by the Florida Reading Association, honors teachers who are innovative in teaching reading, Waite incorporates music, art and lots of movement into her reading lessons. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Teacher's Satan display: A Palm Beach County teacher is within his rights to erect an "In Satan we trust" display in Boca Raton's Sanborn Square, according to Palm Beach County Superintendent Robert Avossa. Preston Smith just needs to keep his religious views out of his English classes at Boca Raton Middle School, Avossa says. Palm Beach Post. WPTV. (more…)

Florida will start funding charter school facilities based on the characteristics of the students they serve.

And under new rules approved today by the state Board of Education, charters will have to clear a higher academic bar to qualify.

A new state law requires the state to distribute more capital funding to charter schools where at least 25 percent of students have special needs, or at least 75 percent qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch.

The state rule created in response to that law also disqualifies charter schools from receiving state capital funding if they've received consecutive D's under the state accountability system. The previous rule only disqualified charter schools rated F.

At the state board's meeting in Tampa, that change received pushback from schools that could lose funding as a result.

Right now, more than 400 of the state's roughly 650 charter schools qualify for a share of $75 million set aside for facilities funding. The state is still updating its numbers to distribute funding under the new rule.

Adam Miller, the director of the state's school choice office, told the board that preliminary calculations show 142 charter schools could receive extra funding because more than three-quarters of their students are economically disadvantaged. Of those higher-poverty schools, Miller said current projections show seven could lose funding under the stricter academic requirements. (more…)

Legislation. State Sen. John Legg's colleagues say he's the "designated hitter" on education issues. Tampa Bay Times. Legg, state Sen. Dwight Bullard and others talk education on Florida This Week.

Charter schools. Cape Coral city officials worry about building upkeep for their network of municipal charter schools. North Fort Myers Neighbor.

Uniforms. Charter school leaders complain they were barred from a student attire incentive program. Gradebook.

College credit. Collegiate high schools help students save on tution. Sun-Sentinel.

Testing. Officials puzzle over what to do with test results. Tampa Tribune. It's Algebra I retake time. Bradenton Herald. An Orlando Sentinel columnist backs a move to national assessments.

Budgets. Martin teachers could get a raise. Stuart News. Same for St. Lucie employess. St. Lucie News Tribune. State and local revenues rise in Indian River. Indian River Press Journal. The Pasco school district wants to allocate resources more efficiently. Gradebook. Marion schools reallocate teachers based on enrollment. Ocala Star-Banner.

Growth. Some Orange County residents push for a new school in their backyard, while others are opposed. Orlando Sentinel.

Awards. An Okaloosa teacher wins an Air Force award. Northwest Florida Daily News.

Education reform. Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano seizes on middling Florida SAT scores. (more…)

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel recently reported, the Palm Beach County school board is considering new rules for charter schools.

Some appear to make sense.

The proposed changes, discussed at a workshop Wednesday, include conducting more thorough background checks on charter school applicants and requiring new charter schools to offer an innovative curriculum that fills a niche in the county. Charters also would have to comply with school district investigations, allow district officials access to their records and develop a plan for an orderly closure if they are unsuccessful.

Background checks and orderly closure procedures might help prevent uprooting students, losing taxpayer money, or allowing low-quality charter schools to proliferate. As the results of a recent CREDO study showed, Palm Beach County, and West Palm Beach in particular, don't need more poor-performing charter operators.

It's the requirement that charters be "innovative" — as determined by their main competitors, the school district — that gets a little dicey.

No one's saying charter schools should not be innovative. The issue is who gets to decide what that means. As Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute has mused, the term "innovation," as used in education circles, appears to connote "whatever you're not doing at the moment, whatever got profiled recently in Education Week, or anything that involves an iPad."

The Sun-Sentinel notes the Palm Beach school board aims to overcome this problem by consulting with national experts on a definition. It has already used such a requirement to turn down a proposed school by Charter Schools USA.

On Thursday, a Florida Senate panel aired the pitfalls of such a rule, when Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, proposed adding to state law a requirement that charters "meet a specific instructional need ... which the local school district does not provide." (more…)

A Florida Senate panel on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation making tweaks to the state's second-in-the-nation program that provides scholarship accounts for students with special needs.

Key changes in SB 602 would make Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts, which were signed into law eight months ago, available to more children with conditions on the autistic spectrum and speed the flow of money into the accounts.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, indicated more changes could be ahead, like requiring more detailed reporting on the program's results.

Several Democrats who supported the legislation sought other changes to the program. Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, wanted assurances that parents, especially those of children with the most severe conditions, would be informed about the program so that "everyone will have access, especially those with greatest need." He also proposed an amendment requiring annual reports on the program's effectiveness.

"We know it's helping those students who are probably most in need, but it would be amazing if we have (more transparency and) some level of reporting done," Bullard said. (more…)

The Florida Senate has proposed taking a new path on legislation that would create individual accounts for special-needs students.

Under a rewrite approved this morning by the Education Appropriations panel, the legislation would create "enhancements" of the existing services for children with disabilities.

Earlier versions of the bill would have created education savings accounts based on the state's core per-pupil education funding. The new proposal would create a Florida Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts program, overseen by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities and paid for by $18.4 million in separate funding.

The program would be open to students with conditions like autism and cerebral palsy who participate in home-education programs, or attend public or private schools.

Like the original proposal, it would give their parents a way to pay for additional instructional materials, private school tuition, or certain kinds of therapy. They could also use the money to save for college or pay for services provided by school districts.

"To me it's very simple. It's about more money to kids who need it the most," said Senate Education Chairman John Legg, R-Trinity, who noted some of the bill's initial opponents were concerned about funding the accounts in the state's education budget. "This is additional money for additional services for all kids."

"What it begins to recognize is that our public schools cannot be health-care providers for everyone," he added.

Advocates for students with disabilities, including Robyn Rennick of the Coalition of McKay Scholarship Schools, spoke in favor of the bill. Representatives for the statewide teachers union, which opposed the original legislation, withdrew their opposition after the changes were approved. (more…)

From the News Service of Florida:

Education Commissioner Pam Stewart faced tough questions from senators Wednesday as she outlined how the state would move forward on tweaks to its current schools standards and select a new test for students.

Speaking to the Senate Education Committee, Stewart tried to tamp down concerns that a quick timeline for having a new test in place for next school year could cause problems.

"We've put every precaution in place to ensure that we will have an assessment that is appropriate for Florida's students in the '14-'15 school year," Stewart said.

Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order in September requiring the state to end its role in helping handle the financial affairs of the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC. The state is currently reviewing five applications by testing companies hoping to develop a new test for Florida.

Stewart is scheduled to select the winner in March.

Despite talk that the state might ultimately end up using PARCC, Stewart said the multi-state consortium did not participate in the state's "invitation to negotiate" for the new test.

"PARCC did not apply," she said in response to a question from Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, about whether the test might still be used. "I would suggest to you ... it will depend on the five applications. It cannot be considered as part of the ITN."

Pressed by Montford again about whether Florida could ultimately end up using PARCC, Stewart cited legal restrictions on what she could and couldn't say.

"You have probably stepped into the arena of questions I could not answer," she responded.

Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, was more blunt while talking to reporters after the meeting, which Gaetz attended. (more…)

Parent trigger. Citing anonymous sources, Sunshine State News says Gov. Rick Scott helped kill parent trigger. Five GOP senators tell The Buzz he had nothing to do with it. Arne Duncan sorta kinda maybe a wee little bit endorses the concept of parent trigger, notes This Week In Education. Parents would have been at the mercy of for-profit charters because "parents of students in failing schools don’t necessarily have the skill sets to develop corrective plans," writes Florida Voices columnist Rick Outzen.

Tutoring. Lawmakers, including Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, try but fail to keep the mandated program for low-income kids after all. Tampa Bay Times.

Virtual schools. Florida Virtual School doesn't get as much as it expected due to funding changes. Times/Herald.

Turnaround schools. An attempt to restaff a struggling Pasco elementary school doesn't draw many applicants beyond existing teachers. Tampa Bay Times.

Private schools. A Christian school in Orlando plans to begin drug testing students. Orlando Sentinel.

Charter schools. The City of Cape Coral Charter School System has a new superintendent. Fort Myers News Press.

Teacher pay. Teachers won't have to wait for raises, reports the Tampa Bay Times and Tallahassee Democrat. Lawmakers ultimately do the right thing, writes the Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)

Charter schools. Tallahassee Democrat columnist Byron Dobson takes issue with last week's DOE press release about charter school performance, which was headlined, "Report shows charter school students outpace traditional public school students." "Somehow the DOE headline comes across as a slam against public schools," he writes.

School choice. The Escambia school district is set to offer more public school options within geographic zones, prompting School Board Chairman Jeff Bergosh to say:“What we’re doing is the logical next step in public education. Because of this ancient system of geographic boundaries, it shuts out students from being able to go to a better school. This moves the ball forward and allows parents an opportunity.” Pensacola News Journal.

Career education. The Tampa Tribune likes where the Legislature is headed with career education.

Parent trigger. Authentic parents vs. authentic lobbyists, writes StateImpact Florida. An update from SchoolZone. Privatization, says this op-ed in the Ledger.

Digital learning. The conversion in the St. Johns district is welcome but challenging. St. Augustine Record.

Private schools. The Tallahassee Democrat profiles a 40-year-old Episcopalian school whose alumni include the children and grandchildren of Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee. (more…)

Count newly-elected Florida Rep. Manny Diaz, Jr. among a number of state lawmakers who are public school district employees. But Diaz, an assistant principal in the Miami-Dade public school district, isn’t just a cheerleader for traditional public schools.

He’s also a huge – and very vocal - advocate for school choice.

“We have an evolving student body – different than what it was five years ago,’’ Diaz, a Republican who represents his hometown of Hialeah, said during a recent telephone interview with redefinED. “I do believe we have to look at all the options.’’

Diaz has been appointed to the House Education Committee, as well as the K-12 and Choice & Innovation subcommittees. Among his goals there: to help guide fellow lawmakers and education leaders toward reform that is “student-centered and parent-centered.’’

To that end, Diaz said he fully supports district programs, such as magnet schools; high-quality charter schools; and other nontraditional options, such as tax credit scholarships.

“I think the competition makes our educational choices better,’’ he said. And better can only be defined by results. “I’m big on the accountability side,’’ Diaz said. “It’s a matter of having the political courage to move forward, to take measures already in the law.’’

If a district school isn’t helping students succeed academically, bring in interventions, he said. If a charter school isn’t operating ethically, shut it down.

Diaz also responded to recent news reports in which Gov. Rick Scott called for private schools that accept tax credit scholarships to give those students the same tests as their public school peers. (more…)